October 16 & 17, 2015
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
The increasing internationalization of the study of American art has altered the topography of the discipline in ways that are widely acknowledged but not yet clearly defined. This two-day event maps out the changes that are occurring in the field of American art as it becomes enmeshed in a global art history. How is an emphasis on transnationalism shaping the questions we ask of American art and the topics we investigate? How is our approach to American art different than it was ten years ago? What is the future of American art history? Sessions examine current trends of inquiry and suggest new directions for scholarship.
Shifting Terrain is the capstone event in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s five-part series Terra Symposia on American Art in a Global Context.